Governor



Jam.` 7, 1936.` E, KNAUSS v 2,026,742

GOVERNOR Fild sept. 22, 1931 5 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR E. KNAUSS Jan. 7, 1936.-

GOVERNOR Filed Sept. 22, 1951 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 32 Edward [fha/LESS BY Q y Q3 ATTORNEY Jan. 7, w36. v E. KNAUss 2,026,742

' `GoVEmmR Filed Sepg. 22, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 'VACUUM uN xNCHEs 0F MERCURY 4 U INVENTOR Edcvaz'd. ICIzaLLSS BY@ l .bwl

.05 .l .l5 .2 .25 GOV. PISTON MOVEMENT IN lNCHES ATTORN EY Patented Jan. 7., 1936 the desired result and the principal object of the V Application September eclaims.. (c1. 137-453) 'Ihis invention relates to governors for internal combustion engines and particularly represents improvements over the structure shown in my Patent No. 1,670,364 dated May 22, 1928. The present governor as well aslthat of the previous patent is of that type which consists essentially of a control valve interposed in the intake passage of thel engine between the carburetor and the manifold and the movement of which valve is controlled by differences in the vacuum pressure in the passage.

It is ofcourse desirable that a governor for this purpose shall function to automatically maintain a constant engine speed under varying load conditions, irrespective of the set position of the throttle valve of the engine.

In my previous structure as well as in other governors attempts have been made to attain an ideal result or functioning by the employment of a multiplicity of springs or other parts to produce a straight line graph which would indicate an actually constant engine speed. As far as I am aware however no such attempts have been wholly successful and even in my previous device which representedan improvement over existing governors, and which was designed to overcome this curve, I was unable to do so, and had to employ a number of springs and other parts to make the governor function at all.

I have finally succeeded however in attaining a device for the purpose invwhich the number of moving parts is reduced to a minimum so that friction -in operation is reduced, manufacturing costs are lowered andv there is practically nothing to get out of order orrequire replacement. even after along period of use;A Also the structure is very easy to assemble and adjust `when neces- A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive -device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

'I'hese objects I `accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts `as will fully appear by apperusal of the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings 4similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views: `Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the governor partly PATENT, OFFICE 2,026,742 L GOVERNOR Edward Knauss, Sacramento, Calif.

22, 1931, Serial No. 564,271

Rl-:lssutt in section showing vthe control valve in its normal wide open position. Y

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 ofFig.l.

Fig; 3 is an end view of the piston unit.

Fig. 4 is a` -sectional elevation of the valve and `passage taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. l.

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views showing a modled arrangement of the passage flares.

Fig'. 7 is a diagram of a graph showing the straight vacuum line formed by the governor, as well as certain other vacuum lines.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral I denotes a anged body adapted to be inserted between and secured to the flanges 2 and 3 of the intake manifold and carburetor respectively. The body I has a passage 4 preferably but not necessarily of rectangular cross section extending therethrough to communicate with the passages in the manifold and carburetor. A shaft 5 is turnably mounted in the body and extends transversely of the same centrally between its ends and has a rectangular valve B of the butteriiy type secured thereto and having a reasonably close t between the side walls of the passage. At its opposite ends the valve is formed with relatively short extensions 1 vwhich face in opposite -direc tions to the-direction of closing movement of the valve. Thevpurpose of these extensions will be seen later.

The governor structure for operating this valve comprisesv a cylinder 8 terminating at one lend in a chamber 9 which is abutted against and securedto the body I on one side, so as to extend vtangentially thereof, and into which the shaft 5 projects. A port P is provided between the cham- Yber and the passage! near the top of the latter.

or above the center of the valve. The cylinder isl disposed so as to be substantially in radial relation to the shaft. Slidable in the cylinder is a hollow piston I0 having on its inner end a rela'- tively narrow head II projecting into the cham--V ber and slotted as at I2 in a plane at right angles to the length of the piston. This slot engages a preferably formed ofopposed strips curved to fit the piston, one of which walls has an outa floating block 2 l.

the block 2l projects through the end cap 23 of wardly projecting ilange I6 at its outer end. This flange is adapted to ride in a groove I1 cut in the inner periphery of the piston, the outside wall of the groove being cut away for alength not less than the' arcuate length of the. ange as shown at I8. This permits of the ready insertion and removal of the cage relative to the piston by a partial turning of the cage, while preventing longitudinal movement of the cage inthe piston when once it is mounted in position.

A block i9 secured in the inner end of the cage forms the anchor for one end of a tension vspring 20, the other end of which is anchored on A screw 22 threaded through the cylinder 8 and is -xed in a turning knob '2e l positioned on the outside ofthe cap. A pin 25 therefore the floating block is moved lengthwise' mounted in the cap parallel to the screw projects through the block 2| `and permits longitudinal.

movement of the same. On turning the screw and the tension of the spring is increased or decreased as the case may be.v A port-26 through the end cap provides communication between the interior of the piston and the atmosphere.

An adjustable compression spring 2l is mount- -ed in the chamber in opposed relation to the head shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. In thearrangement shown in Fig. 4 these flares are formed as inserts 29 set in the body and having top flanges 25a.

"removably secured to the body. In this manner said inserts can be removed and others having a different flare-curvature substituted if desired.

- In Fig. 5 the flare curves are shown as being formed integral with the body and hence nonchangeable.

In Fig. 6 the flare inserts 3B this casefhowever the inserts extend for the full height of the body and are thin and resilient at their ends opposite the are curves as shown at- 3l. The thin portions of these inserts are secured to the body by screws 32 in such a manner that the vertical position of 'said inserts in the body may be altered. 'Ihis enables the relative position of the are curves to the arc of `rotation of the valve to be altered. Toward their daring ends the inserts are engaged on the back by set screws 33 so that the curved portions of the inserts may be pressed inwardly toward the center of. the body passage.

formed in the manifold which is connected with chamber 9 through port P subjecting the-entire head area or'piston lo in chamber s to this vacnum. .The atmosphericpressure acting against the outer end of piston I through port 2 6 exerts are also used. In

In this manner `also the'- .relation or positioning of the flare curves relaemana a force tendingv to overcome the spring tension.

As the motor speed increases the vacuum in chamber 9 also increases until the resistance of spring 20 is overcome, when piston l0 will be forced forward, raising the arm Ill an'd rotating valve 6 towards its closed position. The closing of valve 6 further increases the vacuum in chamber 9, since throttle wide open so that a corresponding vacuum pressure is maintained in the intake passage and chamber 9. The atmospheric pressure acting with the vacuum pressure now holds piston lil and valve 6 in a sufficiently closed position to maintain this speed. Suppose now we .apply a light load; the engine speed tends to drop and the vacuum instantly starts to fall. As the spring force is at all points in substantial balance with the opposing atmospheric pressure, this allows spring 20 to pull piston I0 out, opening valve 6 an amount to take care of this load and counteracting the difference in vacuum drop. If this operation is repeated until the motor is pulling its full load, the governor valve 6, will then be wide open and the motor -speed will still be approximately 200GB. P. M.

It may be here noted that it is common practice to allow a drop in speed from no load to a full load of from 5 to 10% for stability. In other words if the vacuum and spring tension were perfectly balanced at all points there might be some surge. Now if the performance is reversed and the load decreased, the action of the governor will also be reversed.' still holding the motor speed approximately constant.

It follows, therefore,`that the 'governor automatically holds themotor speed within close limits regardless of load up to the limit for which it is set.

An important feature of this governor is that it cannot increase speed by reason of the carburetor throttle valve being only partially open. This is because the pistn I@ only is the vacuum responsive member; and the valve 'is not depended upon to start or assist in closing. The

valve 5 does have a certain amount of closing f amount approximately corresponding to 'the opening of the carburetor throttle at any point below the governed speed. l

Quick and sensitive response in operation is obtained by reason of the fact that all friction ls eliminated except the sliding friction of the piston .due to its weight andan extremely small amount between the roller I3 and the vslotli. and between.

the shaft 5 and its anti-friction bearings.l

-The highly important features of my inven-V tion are the means by which I have been able to produce a straight built-up vacuum line out of or instead of one of a naturally curved form. This result is obtained mainly by the use of the type of valve shown cooperating with a passage Referring to Figs. 4 and 6 it will be seen that the valve 6 divides'the passage I into two parts; the valve 4restraining the passage at its, opposite ends and the combined area of the two restrained portions when the valve is wide open being just sufficient to give the engine its full power. Now as the valve is moved toward its closed position it rst has a relatively fast cut-off which gradually this cut-off `of the valve will produce the desired straight built-up vacuum line at different speeds as shown at A in Fig. 7. The benecial result of the use of the flared passage over a straight sided one will be seen by comparing the lines A with the curved line B made with a straight passage.

In certain cases, such as very low engine speeds, it might be found more convenient to use two lines of vacuum build-up; the first being relativey ly fiat as at C in Fig. 7 for approximately onehalf the travel, then pitched up the balance of vthe way as shown at -D. This would only be for the purpose of reducing the travel of piston l0.'

In vthis case we would use two springs; the spring 21, which is ordinarily used as a bumper spring would now be constructed or adjusted to control one line and spring 20 the other.

It is obvious that the shape-or size of the flares will alter the vacuum' line, therefore I have made provision for changing or adjusting them as shown in Fig. 6. Also the Vacuum line can be altered by substituting a shorter or longer valve or by changing the angle of the valve in relation to the position of the control crank.

A valve, particularly of the butterfly type, after it leaves its vertical position, has a certain closing-action all its own but is by no means uniform. It is in order to make this torque uniform that I have provided the extensions 'l faced in the opposite direction to the travel. These extensions are so shapedthat they add to the closing torque for Vthe full closing movement. While I prefer to use a valve wit this uniform torque, it is not absolutely essential, as one without these extensions works quite well.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice-such deviations `from-such detail may be resorted to-as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. "1 o Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by -comprising a casing having a passageway therethrough, a valve gate in the passageway, a central pivot for the gate, the opposite walls of thepassageway for that portion of their length toward which the leading edges of the gate move from open to closed position .being formed with inwardly extending curved flares eccentric to the 'circular path of movement of the peripheryof diminution of the open area of the passageway asthe gate moves to closed position will be in substantially direct proportion to Yany reduction in the' vacuum pull exerted on the vacuum'responsive member. 'l0

2. A governor for internal combustion engines comprising a vacuum responsive member, a valve connected withl and operated by such member toA control the flow of fuel to the engine, such valve comprising a casing having a passage- 1 way therethrough, a valve gate in the passageway, a central pivot for the gate, the opposite walls of the passageway for that portion of their length toward which the leading edges of the gate move from open to closed position being so 20 formed eccentric relative to the circular path of movement of the leading edges of the gate that as the latter moves toward closed position the' open area throughA the passageway `will be diminished in substantially direct proportion to 35 any reduction in the vacuum pull exerted on the vacuum responsive member.

3. A governor for internal combustion engines comprising a vacuum responsive member. a valve connected with and operated by such member to control the flow of fuel to vthe engine, such valve comprising a casing having a passageway therethrough, a valve gate in the passageway, a central pivot for the gate', the opposite walls of the passageway for that portion of their length toward which the leading edges of the gate move from open to closed position being formed with inwardly extending, independent and removable elements vconstituting flares disposed in eccentric relation to the periphery of the gate which 40 overhang the gate after it has made an initial movement toward closing position, the fl'ares being so proportioned thatthe diminution of the open area of the'passageway as the gate moves to closed position will be in substantially direct 45 proportion to any reduction in the vacuum pull exerted on the vacuum responsive member.

4. A governor for internal combustion engines comprising a vacuum responsive member, a valve connected with and operated by said vacuum responsive member and through which valve the fuel mixture is adapted to fiow to the engine, such valve comprising a casing having a passage therethrough, a gate in the passage adapted to control the ow of mixture therethrough, a central 5- pivot for the gate, the opposite walls of the passageway for that portion of their length toward which the leading edges of the gate move from open to'elosed position Vbeing formed with in. wardly extending fiares disposed in eccentric relation to the periphery of the gate and extending from inceptions approximately opposite the pivot to the outer ends of the passage and adapted to overhang the gate after it has made a first initial movement toward closing position the degree of flare being such that after an initial maximum movement of the gate toward closing position, succeeding movements of the gate toward such closing position will result in a reduction inthe open area of thepassageway substantially proportioned to the vacuum pull exerted on the vacuum responsive member.

5. In a governor for internal combustion engines, which includes a passageway for mixture, f a normally open butterfly valve pivoted in said passageway, and a vacuum responsive controlling member for said valve; the walls ofsaid passageway on opposite sides being disposed in eccentric relation to the vperiphery of the valve and cooperating -therewith .to provide an .in-- itially' quick reduction of the area of the pasq .sageway ask the valv'e initially moves toward a.

.a valve connected with and operatedby such emana member control: the ow .of fuel to the engine, such valve comprising a casing having a. passageway therethrough, a valve gate in the `passageway', a pivot for the gate, and a. flare formed on a wall of the passage opposite the pivot and extending toward one endof the pas- Sage in divergingly eccentric relation to the circular path of movement of the leading edge pull exerted by the vacuum responsive member.

v v EDWARD mWAUSS.

'rect proportion to any reduction in the vacuum 

